Quote: "We should think of a photographer as a Samurai who makes rituals, moves and gestures in order to develop his techniques and his instinct."
Alex Majoli joined Magnum Photos in 1996 and became a full Member in 2001.

Alex Majoli
Italian, b. 1971

At the age of 15, Alex Majoli joined the F45 Studio in Ravenna, working alongside Daniele Casadio. While studying at the Art Institute in Ravenna, he joined Grazia Neri Agency and traveled to Yugoslavia to document the conflict. He returned many times over the next few years, covering all major events in Kosovo and Albania.

Majoli graduated from art school in 1991. Three years later, he made an intimate portrayal of the closing of an asylum for the insane on the island of Leros, Greece, a project that became the subject of his first book, Leros.

In 1995 Majoli went to South America for several months, photographing a variety of subjects for his ongoing personal project, 'Requiem in Samba'. He started the project 'Hotel Marinum' in 1998, on life in harbour cities around the world, the final goal of which was to perform a theatrical multimedia show. That same year he began making a series of short films and documentaries.

After becoming a full member of Magnum Photos in 2001, Majoli covered the fall of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, and two years later the invasion of Iraq. He continues to document various conflicts worldwide for Newsweek, the New York Times Magazine, Granta and National Geographic.

Majoli, in collaboration with Thomas Dworzak, Paolo Pellegrin and Ilkka Uimonen, had an extremely successful exhibition and installation Off Broadway in New York in 2004, which travelled to France and Germany. He then became involved in a project for the French Ministry of Culture entitled 'BPS', or 'Bio-Position System', about the social transformation of the city of Marseilles. A recently completed project, 'Libera me', is a reflection on the human condition.

Alex Majoli lives and works in New York and Milan.

Awards

2002/04 Several citations at the Picture of the Year International Award
2004 Honorable Mention, Leica Oskar Barnack Award
2004 Feature Photography Award, the Overseas Press Club
2004 Magazine Photographer of the Year, Best of Journalism
Contest, National Press Photographers Association
2003 Infinity Award for Photojournalism, the International Center of
Photography
2002 Pesaresi Prize, Festival Foto

Exhibitions

2006 Leros - Palazzo Magnani, Reggio Emilia, Italy
2006 Mi manchi - Magazino dello zolfo, Ravenna, Italy
2004 Leros, VeryTrolley Gallery, London, UK
2000 Leros, Ospedale Psichiatrico Paolo Pini, Milan, Italy
1999 Leros, Galleria Immagina, Venice, Italy
1999 Massacre, Radiosity Gallery, Milan, Italy
1998 Bambini, Palazzo Reale, Genova, Italy
1997 Slave, Casa do Olodum, Salvador da Bahia, Brazil
1988 Pensiamoci stanotte, La Galleria, Ravenna, Italy

Books

2004 One Vote, Filigranes Editions, France
1999/03 Leros, West Zone, Italy/Trolley, UK/Phaidon, UK